I use a simple metric:

How will my autobiography read?

If I'm improving the quality of my autobiography every day, then I'm probably doing something right. If I'd be too embarrassed to write down some aspect of my life, or if it would have too tenuous a connection to the rest of the story, then I probably need to change course.

This metric also makes it clear that success is in how you live your life rather than where you end up. Your life's final destination is only going to fill one page. The journey of your life needs to fill the book.

I like that one too.

edit: though some thing in an autobiography might not be things that make you happy but might increase its interest for the reader.

I take happiness, and the pursuit thereof, as a constant. Happiness is something that you find within your circumstances -- it comes from within yourself. When we talk about success we are referring to a sort of deeper satisfaction with your life. We're talking about mission and purpose, about an interesting life and a life well-lived. The idea of a good autobiography encapsulates exactly those things.

This are differences in definition.

For some, success is a destination. For others, it is a path.

(Also, as an aside: is it just me, or do us nerd types spend more than half our communication bandwidth arguing over terms and who is right?)

> is it just me, or do us nerd types spend more than half our communication bandwidth arguing over terms and who is right?

This is a Good Thing. The alternative is not to argue over terms and consequently to waste time just talking past each other. (See: politics)

I am just a bit more cynical. What is personal success?

I will consider myself successful with the knowledge that if I die to-morrow, there will be some people crying at my funeral and these will not be my creditors.

If that is your definition of success than aren't you already successful?

What about the degree of success? Are you more successful if the most people possible are crying with the greatest passion?

Shouldn't success give you a more enjoyable life while you are still alive?

"Personal success" is similar to playing The Game. If you aren't aware of it, you're already succeeding, because you haven't defined it otherwise.

Personally, I wish to stay happy moment-to-moment. I want to be 100% engaged in any thing that I do, even in the most mundane of tasks like putting on clothes, eating, shaving. I don't want my mind to leap ahead to fantasies of the next thing, as it doesn't improve my future enjoyment, and it rarely gives me any useful insight. And I don't want to burden myself with abstract thoughts of "is my life as good as it could be?" as that leads me to beat myself up for no reason.

This does not conflict at all with the more material goals in life; rather, it puts them into proper perspective.

Yes, I consider myself successful. As a corollary to what I have said correlating success with people is a better metric than correlating with money. The article blurbed something about exercise and a strong body. Well are you going to be successful at 70 based on this?

Putting people first in your life will give you a more enjoyable life, would help you get through during your life's failures and no-one will say I am glad this motherfckr kicked the bucket.

> Are you more successful...

As soon as you put the more or less words before successful you lost the game. You measuring success against materialistic targets. Anyway if that's your cup of tea is ok by me!

> correlating success with people is a better metric than correlating with money

Sure, I agree. I did that

> The article blurbed something about exercise and a strong body

You mis-understood or I did not communicate properly my sentance I said "Exercise myself to the highest potential". I meant exercise in the sense or work to my fullest potential. "blurbed" seems like a bit of an unnecessarily argumentative phrase.

> As soon as you put the more or less words before successful you lost the game

Hmm, I think you view a lack of success is a negative thing, where as I view degrees of success as a way of something to achieve. If you just think you are success and have nothing to achieve then that is fine. It personally drives me. None of my metrics were particularly materialistic

Any way this is just my opinion, I am not trying to impose it on you

My definitions:

business: success = maximization of long term owners equity

personal: success = sum(gifts to others) (This has nothing to do with money or things.)

Success = achieving/exceeding set goals.

Does this imply that success without goals is impossible?

In that case, what would you measure success against?

Your peers. I always thought that had a huge effect on your happiness and perception of your status.

In this case your "set goal" is to match/surpass your peers.

I think it does, and it theory that might be wrong in practice I haven't seen anybody succeed without a clear goal.

Personal success for me is being happy with myself.